A pair of independent analysts have uncovered previously undetected radio transmissions from last year’s Yarnell Hill Fire that they believe contradict official investigative reports on the fatal blaze, according to an online journal.

Wildland fire experts John Maclean and Holly Neill assert that the recorded communications belie earlier findings about the location and decision-making of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who were killed when flames swept over them June 30.

In their article for Wildfire Today, Maclean and Neill say they believe muffled radio conversations show that Eric Marsh, the hotshots’ supervisor, had made it to safety at a cleared ranch compound minutes before the tragedy, but apparently rejoined his comrades in a box canyon shortly before flames enveloped them.

No other investigators have confirmed that Marsh is one of the voices captured on the multiple recordings. Likewise, neither agency that formally investigated the deaths has concluded that Marsh reached the ranch near where the fire overtook him and his crew.

The Arizona Republic has not independently verified the analysts’ conclusions or who is speaking in the radio transmissions.

Agencies that investigated the fire last year have declined to respond to questions about the analysts’ findings or whether they could change their own investigative conclusions.

The Yarnell Hill Fire scorched 8,400 acres, destroyed at least 127 structures and forced hundreds to evacuate in Yarnell, Glen Ilah and Peeples Valley. The firefighters’ families and residents have since filed dozens of lawsuits accusing the incident command team of negligence and malfeasance.

Maclean and Neill assert that, contrary to official findings, new audio evidence shows some personnel on the fire knew where the Granite Mountain Hotshots were and what they were doing in the final minutes before the wind-driven blaze overcame them.The authors note that, while the new radio conversations “add to the big picture of what happened ... they do not answer the remaining questions that still swirl.”

Neill, a retired wildland firefighter, isolated the communications while analyzing video used by a Serious Accident Investigation team to review the tragedy for the Arizona State Forestry Division. She collaborated with Maclean, who has written numerous books on wildfires.

The Serious Accident Investigation team, which did not identify mistakes or lay blame for the accident, emphasized there was a communication gap of more than 30 minutes, during which the Granite Mountain crew members did not communicate their location or plans.

A workplace-safety investigation by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health identified willful and serious violations in managing the fire, resulting in fines against the state Forestry Division of $559,000. Forestry officials are appealing the findings and fines.

The ADOSH report did not specifically focus on a gap in communications from the hotshots. An ADOSH spokeswoman declined comment on the article for Wildfire Today, citing pending litigation.

Both inquiries concluded that fire commanders believed the Granite Mountain Hotshots were in a previously burned area atop a ridge. Earlier in the day, the hotshots had been advised to regard “the black” as their first line of protection.

A cleared compound at nearby Boulder Springs Ranch provided an alternate safe zone on the outskirts of Yarnell and Glen Ilah.

Nobody can explain why the crew abandoned the blackened area and descended toward the ranch through a brush-filled, blind canyon that was in the fire’s path.

Neill uncovered background radio traffic among fire personnel on previously released video shot for an aerial firefighting study. The radio traffic is sometimes garbled and barely audible. In one segment, an indistinct voice — which Neill and Maclean contend is Marsh — said the Granite Mountain crew was “making their way down the escape route” toward the ranch. That transmission occurred at 4:13 p.m., in the middle of the communication gap identified by the Serious Accident Investigation team.

According to a transcript of the voices provided by Neill and Maclean, an unidentified voice responded to Marsh, “Copy, working their way down into the structures.”

According to Wildfire Today, another unidentified voice asked, “... (Are you) on the escape route with Granite Mountain right now?”

Neill and Maclean believe Marsh responded, “Nah, I’m at the house where we’re gonna jump out at.”

Minutes later, an unidentified voice said, “... appreciate it if you could go a little faster, but you’re the supervisor.”

A voice Neill and Maclean believe was Marsh answered that the Granite Mountain Hotshots were “coming down from the heel of the fire.” By that time, however, severe monsoon winds had reversed the blaze, so crew members were hiking directly into its path.

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